The whole process of gold ore flotation

Flotation is widely used to recover gold from gold-bearing copper ores, base metal ores, copper-nickel ores, platinum group ores and many other ores for which other processes cannot be applied. Flotation is also used to remove interfering impurities prior to hydrometallurgical processing, for the upgrading of low sulfide and refractory ores for further processing. Flotation is considered the most cost-effective gold extraction method.

The flotation process maximizes the enrichment of gold as sulfide minerals. Tailings can be discharged directly. In China, 80% of rock gold is processed by flotation with low cost.

Gold beneficiation process It is used for beneficiation of fine gold, highly floatable gold sulfide quartz vein ore, polymetallic gold-bearing sulfide ore and carbon-bearing ore.

The main steps that must be completed in the flotation process include: crushing of rock minerals in the process, grinding, flotation, drying and smelting.

Crushing and Grinding of Rock Minerals

In this process, rocky minerals are removed from the mine and then broken up by machines to obtain fine-grained sand, which frees metal-bearing particles for further processing. A stone crusher can be used on a machine tool that destroys mineral rocks, so the minimum particle size of rock minerals can reach between 28 mesh.

Flotation process

At this stage, the refined ore is fed into the stirred tank of the flotation cell to produce a pulp concentrate. Then run the distilled water supply inserted into the flotation cell flotation machine, check the initial volume pH and initial temperature. In the flotation cell, agitation is performed with an impeller, the purpose of which is to create a turbulent movement of the fluid (pulp) in order to form bubbles when inserted into the air flow. Then couple the collector-1, collector-2 and bubbler in the slurry; the flotation machine runs back to time-varying adjustments, and checks the amount of final pH and final temperature.

The flotation agents used in the process are lime, air bubbles and collectors. The froth forms stable bubbles and floats to the surface as a froth flotation cell. The collector reacts with the surface of the precious metal sulfide mineral particles, rendering the surface hydrophobic. Surfaces where minerals bind water molecules are released and become hydrophobic.

So the collector end of the hydrophobic molecules will bind the hydrophobic molecules in the air bubbles, so the mineral ore can float. The collector has a detergent-like molecular structure of hydrophobic sulfide mineral particles that attach to air bubbles that rise from the slurry zone into the foam floating on the cell surface.

The initially formed air bubbles in the flotation process are relatively small, and some of them are attached to the surface of mineral particles. In addition, another bubble that forms right after it merges with the existing bubble to form a bubble of larger size that has enough lift to lift the mineral grains to the surface. Mechanism of ore particles attaching to air bubbles in the tank during flotation Flotation occurs under the action of hydrodynamic force and the interaction force between ore particles and air bubbles, resulting in the collision between air bubbles and ore particles and the occurrence of ore particle attachment bubbles.

From the results of the froth flotation process similar to colored foam detergent concentrates, the metal ore loaded with gold copper minerals then rises to the barrel cover, and the froth concentrate is lifted from the drain to the upper lip and enters the tank flotation machine to be Use as a valuable mineral collectible.

drying and smelting process

Valuable minerals collected in the form of concentrates and mineral ore slurries, 65% solids by weight are dried with dryers until the moisture content is only 9%.

Once everything is done and dried, the gold and copper concentrates are ready for smelting.

If you have any questions about gold ore beneficiation, please call or consult online customer service. Xinhai specializes in the production of various mining and beneficiation equipment.